Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at TD Cowen

Equities researchers at TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) in a research note issued on Friday, Zacks reports. The firm set a “strong-buy” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. FBN Securities initiated coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $647.00 to $645.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.30.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 1.2%

ULTA opened at $640.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $554.29. The company has a market cap of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.84. Ulta Beauty has a 12-month low of $443.60 and a 12-month high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $0.33. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 45.40% and a net margin of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.78 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post 28.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kecia Steelman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.88, for a total transaction of $1,091,760.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,489 shares in the company, valued at $22,102,135.32. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lorna Nagler sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.31, for a total transaction of $322,386.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,851,438.08. This trade represents a 7.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ULTA. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth $33,021,000. Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter valued at $3,024,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at about $1,033,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 34.6% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,553 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,916,000 after acquiring an additional 4,513 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at about $8,311,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc is a specialty beauty retailer that offers cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, bath and body products, beauty tools, and related accessories. Its assortment includes national and emerging brands, prestige and mass-market products, and Ulta Beauty’s private-label merchandise. The company also provides salon services, including hair styling, haircuts, coloring, and treatments, along with brow and skin services in many of its locations.

Founded in 1990 as Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, the company operates primarily in the United States through a network of retail stores and digital channels, including its website and mobile application.